>> this is "bbc world news america." more video footage of the moments leading to the killing of colonel gaddafi as the united nations calls for a full investigation. as a nato signals the end of the alliance's mission, libyans await a declaration of freedom. >> freedom. freedom libya. freedom libya. >> the empire shot down and fenced off. we have a special report from america's newest ghost town. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and also around the globe. in libya, people are still celebrating their first full day of freedom following the death of colonel gaddafi.

those celebrations are set to continue over the weekend as the new government formally declares the nation liberated from 40 years of dictatorship, but the day has not been without controversy. the united nations wants an investigation into the circumstances of the duffy's death amid claims that he was executed -- the circumstances of gaddafi's death amid claims that was -- that he was executed. the report does contain some strong images. >> friday morning is usually a quiet time in misratah, but today, it was not. the defiant city fought at great cost to oust colonel gaddafi's forces earlier this year. now, the deposed dictator's body has been brought here by the fighters who captured him. the body of his son, the spearhead of internal security, is on display. >> the site is becoming a huge

attraction now. hundreds of men, women, and children flocking here to see for themselves. for these people, the questions about how exactly colonel gaddafi and his sons met their end matter less than the fact that it seems to be true, the fact that for libya, this really does represent the end of an era. >> today, new footage emerge, raising fresh questions about colonel gaddafi's final moments. here, he is being led away by rebel fighters who quickly surround him. guns are pointed at his head and voices are heard arguing about whether to kill him. it is still not clear who fired the shots that ended his life, but colonel gaddafi is dead after this. this rebel fighter told us he and a select group had known for a number of days that the former dictator was holed up, but they

had kept the information secret. "-- >> if we had revealed the secret, anything could have happened. gaddafi might have tried to escape just as a woman or even committed suicide. >> more than 24 hours after his death, colonel gaddafi still lay unburied. the people are trying to rebuild their country and to leave libya still needs to be convinced that the former dictator is finally gone. >> the libyan people do not believe that he is dead. >> pictures are also now emerging that throw into question the circumstances surrounding the death of colonel gaddafi's son. the pictures taken shortly after his capture show him i lied and relatively relaxed. but his bullet-scarred body in the freezer shows a different

story. -- the pictures taken shortly after his capture show him alive and relatively relaxed. more from the corner will conduct a post-mortem pyridine national transitional council maintains gaddafi was killed in crossfire, but the evidence that has emerged in the course of today points ever more consistently towards summary execution. then the events in libya are likely to move rapidly over the next few days. the interim government is expected to relocate its headquarters from benghazi to the capital where it faces the daunting task to rebuild the country and bring rival factions together. what kind of future might libya look forward to? we have this assessment. >> libya used to have a lot of rules. it was a police state. some of the young fighters, letting off steam in the colonel gaddafi [applause] compound in tripoli, must feel as if there are not any now.

they have beaten the dictator they were brought up to fear, but building a new country, and that is the challenge, will take rules, discipline, and security. -- letting off steam in the colonel gaddafi's compound in tripoli. all the formal -- former rebel towns now have armed militias. if they did not disband, that is usually the recipe of a failed state. they are forming a national security force, but can men who all believe their town led the fight stick together in the tough times that are inevitable as libya emerges from 42 years of dictatorship? no one wants to think too hard about that yet. this euphoric city has barely started its post-gaddafi honeymoon period and was mourning the colonel in the ruins of his compound, they have been very quiet about it.

>> gaddafi is a criminal, not man. >> the future for libya? >> freedom. >> freedom? >> freedom libya. freedom libya. >> freedom means the national transitional council keeping its promise to hold elections within two years. yet another march was held in markets where today, remembering the death. democracy means learning how to disagree peacefully, and libya has no tradition of that sort of politics. the wars of -- the walls of colonel gaddafi's compound have been raised -- razed. the body found out that building a new country can be painful and difficult. -- they have already found out. a lot of conditions and egyptians are worried that even

that -- even though they got rid of them at the top, the systems are still there and still powerful. libyans do not have to think about that. colonel gaddafi is dead. his most important lieutenants, mainly members of his own family, have been killed, imprisoned, exiled, or they are on the run. the old regime has been smashed. this really is a new beginning. >> i have never felt tripoli this relaxed. properly govern, this country's citizens could be rich, but first, they have to get over the past. >> that was our middle east editor. a short time ago, i spoke to my colleague, who is also in tripoli. big day coming up on sunday. what is this declaration of liberation really going to mean for the people of libya? >> i think it is a formality. it is drawing a line under the

gaddafi dictatorship, if you like, and effectively, the dictatorship was over when tripoli fell to anti-gadhafi forces back in august and he was swept from the city. you still have places holding out where gaddafi's prices were still fighting for him, on behalf of him. now, he is gone. all that is over. this is the drawing of a line, saying that the revolution is complete. libya had been in a kind of limbo since august, so now, it can get on psychologically, with turning to the future, looking ahead, trying to build a new libya, trying to create this new framework for fear at -- free and fair elections. this is a country that has not had free elections in a long time. think of all the things you have to create.

a civil service for example. free media. all these things that have got to be done in a relatively short space of time. big challenges ahead, no doubt. really, this will be a huge cause of celebration and this announcement sunday may just be a formality, but i expect huge celebrations across the country. >> thank you very much for that. nato has announced that it plans to end its mission in libya at the end of this month. for more on that earlier, i spoke to the libyan ambassador to the united states. ambassador, thank you very much for joining me. before we go on to those broader issues, you served in the regime for many years. can i get your personal reaction to the death of colonel gaddafi and the manner in which he was killed?

>> the end of dictatorship and the turning of a new page, a new chapter for democracy and conciliation among the libyans who suffer all together near or far from him, from his brutal regime. >> do you think the country can be united now? the common goal of getting rid of the colonel has been achieved. can they stay united? >> i am a very optimistic man. when i see libyans for the first time friend themselves challenged by gaddafi and his arms and mercenaries, they managed to unite, young and old, women and men, children, to fight this regime. they managed to keep together eight months until they got rid of him, and they are ready to go on and have the full confidence. they will unite to build their countries.

>> we are already seeing some discontent with the transitional council but things are not moving fast enough. there are power struggles. are you concerned that there are just too many factions? >> during the tough times, you did not see anything. nobody can take any serious action without receiving instruction. now you see that different groups express different views. this is the diversity we are looking for. libyans -- they have to learn this. for the last 42 years, they are only receiving instructions, and they have to do it what their boss asks them to do. now, they have to do what they believe in to build their country after 42 years of gaddafi pose a brutal regime. >> nida says it is likely to pull out at the end of the month. is that a good time table, do you think? >> even when we control libya

from border to border, the danger is still there. now, gaddafi is dead. the dangers have left. but at the same time, i believe that we still need our friends to be close to us, to be close when we call them that they will be ready to move. libya is a big country with very long borders, and you never know what is going to happen. but we need them in peace like we need them in war. >> for your friends now? who will you be calling on for support as you rebuild the country? >> now we consider ourselves a democratic country. our friends of the ones who believe in people's rights, women's rights, who dream of what their country will be in the future.

libyan dreams did not go with gaddafi's policy, but these are the friends who came to support britain, france, italy, united kingdom, qatar, jordan of comic egypt, tunisia. our relationship with the west was horrible for a long time, since the duffy came to power. -- since gaddafi came to power. to get a visa, you had to wait for months. >> but not anymore? >> i hope not any more. >> thank you very much. a look now at other news around the world. another bloody day in syria. security forces killed at least 13 people during mass demonstrations against the government. most of the deaths were in the central city. emboldened by muammar gaddafi's death in libya, protesters shouted that assad's regime would be the next to unravel.

hillary clinton has confirmed that american officials have met with members of the militant network months ago. the revelation comes as the u.s. wraps up pressure on pakistan to crack down on the islamist group and others blamed for several attacks in afghanistan. secretary clinton is currently on a three-day visit to pakistan. st. paul's cathedral in london is closing to the public for the first time since the second world war because of anti- capitalism protests on its doorstep. the decision was made on health and safety grounds after pleading with protesters to leave. demonstrators have been camping outside the cathedral in the financial district for the past week. home by christmas -- that is the promise barack obama has made with the news that remaining u.s. troops in iraq will be removed by the end of the year. president obama announced the decision shortly after holding a video conference with the iraqi prime minister.

>> it was fought on a flawed premise, and it divided the world, costing well over 100,000 lives and u.s. taxpayers $1 trillion, but today, the war in iraq was declared officially over. >> i can report that as promised, the rest of our troops in iraq will come home by the end of the year. after nearly nine years, america's war in iraq will be over. >> what he did not mention was that the administration had wanted to keep a small number of troops in iraq to continue trading local soldiers, as had the prime minister, but in the end, the iraqi leader was not able to offer the immunity from prosecution for u.s. soldiers that for washington was a precondition of staying on. so ends a war that began with shock and awe, quickly toppling

if the dictator, but said of's weapons of mass destruction never materialized, and this premature destructive gave way to deepening blues as iraq descended into sectarian chaos as insurgence claimed more than 4000 american lives. >> the tide of war is receding. the drawdown in iraq allowed us to refocus our fight against al qaeda and achieve major victories against its leadership, including osama bin laden. >> this announcement was strikingly short on specifics about iraq's future. instead, it felt like a u.s. president road testing his foreign policy message ahead of a reelection campaign. is essentially saying he is winding down foreign wars, focusing on challenges here at home. >> but that leaves one big concern -- iran. its influence over its neighbor is likely to rise as the final u.s. troops depart, even as the

president hailed the pullout, a leading republican called it a strategic victory for america's enemies. >> you are watching "bbc world news america." still to come -- why finding your way around cities like paris or rome will soon be much easier. an irishman has been sentenced to 12 years in prison by a judge in little lenny after being found guilty of trying to buy guns and bombs from a dissident irish republican group, the real ira. michael campbell was secretly filmed test firing weapons in the countryside and was overheard talking about planting bombs in london. >> caught in the act, trying to buy guns and bombs for the real ira. michael campbell went from island to lithuanians to get the weapons. what he did not realize was that his every move was being secretly photographed by the

intelligence services. he was arrested by lithuanian police and then put on trial two years ago. he was not just secretly filmed. some of his conversations were bugged, including one in which he talked about planting bombs in london. >> [inaudible] >> this is the handwritten list of what is the real ira was hoping to buy -- the hand written list of weapons. it included sniper rifles, rockets, hand grenades, and explosives. the lithuanian police do not believe michael campbell was acting alone. they say at least four men were involved, including michael campbell's older brother. he was recently found liable for a bomb in a civil action taken

by relatives of the victims. he denies involvement in the gun smuggling by his brother, but the lithuanian authorities are trying to extricate him from belfast. the jailing of michael campbell is a blow to the real ira. security services believe it may have well save lives, not just in belfast, but in london. >> some good news now for those of us who are directionally challenge. soon it will be easier to find your way around europe. a russian rocket has launched two spacecraft into rocket as part of a satellite navigation system. 30 new satellites will be sent into space over the next few years to improve the gps systems in europe and also herald the introduction of new features, which will be available on smartphones and computers. our correspondent has the story.

>> i am headed into orbit. a rainy day launch of the first of a new generation of satellites. once in space, they will begin to form a network with the u.s. gps system that we currently have. but the european satellites are more advanced. >> over the next few years, many more satellites will be launched in quick succession as the cut -- the cost of more than 5 billion pounds. supporters of the project, though, say it will all be well worth it. >> in some areas, the current systems are accurate to 30 meters. so it can take you to the wrong place. it is the same story for maps and location services on mobiles. soon this will be much more

accurate, and soon, entirely new services will be available. this point and click at the building, and you will be able to give details of what it is, its history, and if it is a shock, what it sells. >> it has applications that we probably have not even thought of today. an example as mobile phones, which are starting to use the gps technology. it will get access to a whole bunch of applications. literally, the sky is the limit. >> it is not dependent on satellite navigation, and a system that is now about to grow. >> that is exactly what i need. some outsiders servers have been quick to draw apocalyptic lessons from america's recent economic woes, but in remote northwestern nevada, it truly is the end of empire. that is the name of the former company town which has been fenced off since the local mine

shut down. empire has lost all its -- almost all its population and even its zip code. paul adams visited what is left of the community in america's newest ghost town. >> in a land so remote, some thought they could never be touched. this is a story about the recession was inexorable march about lives turned upside down, a story about the end of empire. from the edge of town, they can still see their own neighborhood in this once thriving community of children, churches, a swimming pool, even a golf course. >> there is only about 2% of us here now, compared to everybody that was here. everybody is gone. we believe as a community and as a company that we were beyond the effects of the economy. >> but the bottom had already fallen out of the housing market.

at the end of last year, it decided to mind -- the mind, here since the 1920's, was no longer viable. the families had to go. the company says all this is necessary. it wants to protect the plants and the town. it will not let us in to look around, but they are obviously mowing the lawn and keeping up as well. when people do need gypsum again, empire could have a future. >> for now, the general store could survive. it has to make do with additional passers-by. >> everybody cried. they came in to buy bread and cry, and we would cry and hugged each other and cry some more. >> across the valley, another

town, blighted by the closure of empire, has been utterly transformed. then there's not very much kids in school anymore. >> i think nine kids. >> until june, it was 80 with three remaining members of staff. everything happened in just two rooms. it is a challenge for everyone. >> this is a place where change comes slowly. the students -- i think there was some confusion. a lot of anxiety about what is going to happen in the future. >> i am as part of america, mining towns, and go. dear -- there remains littered the landscape. philip is still here, thanks to a job in a nearby gold mine, but other families have scattered. he does not think they will come back. >> i do believe that it is a ghost town and it will continue to stay that way. i do not believe it will never open again.

>> some of the sadder aspects of america's changing landscape there. we just have time for one last story. news corp. holding its first shareholders meeting following the scandal over phone hacking. rupert murdoch told shareholders there would be no excuse for the phone hacking scandal, which prompted protests outside the company. he told shareholders that the company must be profitable but also principled. that brings today's broadcast to a close, but remember, you can find constant updates on our website at bbc.com/news, and you can see what we're working on, too, via our facebook page. that is it for tonight. from all of us here at "bbc world news america," have a lovely weekend.

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